Background: The objective of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of the mat Pilates method on body composition in healthy adult subjects compared with traditional exercise or control condition models.
Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis.
Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, PEDro, SciELO, CINAHAL, and the Cochrane Library.
Results: A total of 10 eligible studies were selected for revision. The findings of this review demonstrated that the mat Pilates method was not more effective than the traditional exercise or control condition models for the analyzed variables (body mass index, lean mass, body fat percentage, and abdominal circumference). Moreover, in the exploratory analysis with older people, adults, and overweight/obese individuals, the mat Pilates method was also not superior for the analyzed outcomes.
Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that the mat Pilates method is no better than the control condition or other types of training to reduce body composition.
Keywords: abdominal circumference; body mass index; exercise.